LANSQUENET

lansquenet, the french corrupted form of the german _landsknecht_ (q.v.), a mercenary foot-soldier of the 16th century. it is also the name of a card game said to have been introduced into france by the _landsknechte_. the pack of 52 cards is cut by the player at the dealer's right. the dealer lays the two first cards face upwards on the table to his left; the third he places in front of him and the fourth, or _rejouissance_ card, in the middle of the table. the players, usually called (except in the case of the dealer) _punters_, stake any sum within the agreed limit upon this rejouissance card; the dealer, who is also the banker, covers the bets and then turns up the next card. if this fails to match any of the cards already exposed, it is laid beside the rejouissance card and then punters may stake upon it. other cards not matching are treated in the same manner. when a card is turned which matches the rejouissance card, the banker wins everything staked on it, and in like manner he wins what is staked on any card (save his own) that is matched by the card turned. the banker pays all stakes, and the deal is over as soon as a card appears that matches his own; excepting that should the two cards originally placed at his left both be matched before his own, he is then entitled to a second deal. in france matching means winning, not losing, as in great britain. there are other variations of play on the continent of europe.